Hwange Thermal Power Station
By Dickson Bandera
Zimbabwe will soon start the upgrade of Hwange Thermal Power Station Unit 1 to 6 as the country continues to tackle power shortages towards energy sufficiency.
Recently, government completed the $1.5 billion Hwange expansion project which saw the construction of two more coal-fired units 7 and 8, whose completion has added a huge 600MW to the national grid.
The expansion project is the country’s biggest energy investment project since independence in 1980 and has significantly reduced outrage power shortages in the country.
In his speech at the official opening of the ZimTrade 2023 Exports Conference in Harare this Thursday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa hinted on the commencement of the upgrade works at Hwange.
“The development and modernisation of key enablers for production, trade and commerce remain a priority to speed
up the growth of all sectors of our economy. In this regard, the commissioning of Hwange Units 7 and 8 has gone a long way towards enhancing the stability of power supply,” said the president.
“Plans are now on course to upgrade Hwange Units 1 to 6 along with other national strategic power generation
stations,” he added.
In order to support the projected average economic growth, government seeks to increase power supply from the current installed capacity of 2317MW to 3467 MW by the year 2025 and construction of additional 280km of transmission and distribution network by 2025.
President Mnangagwa called the industry to adopt renewable energy resources given the fact that Zimbabwe has abundant green energy sources including solar, hydro, biomass, geothermal and wind.
“As we chart strategies for ‘exporting into the future,’ I implore the private sector to harness and invest in our abundant clean renewable energy resources,” he said.
The Presidential call resonates with the National Renewable Energy Policy which aims to achieve an installed renewable energy capacity of 1,100 MW (excluding large hydro) or 16.5% of total electricity supply, whichever is higher, by 2025 and 2,100 MW or 26.5% of total electricity supply, whichever is higher by 2030.
In March 2023, Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) signed a MOU worth US$300 million with French independent power producer HDF Energy to develop a green hydrogen power plant.
Over the years, the uptake of independent power producers have been low due to what has been identified as uncertainties in the Investment returns.
The government continues to review policies and strategies in order to remedy all the challenges facing the sector. President Mnangagwa said government was committed to securing investments through fair and attractive policies.
“On its part my Government will continue to nurture aconducive business environment, to ensure that capital feels safe in our jurisdiction. The policies of the Second Republic have seen us attract and retain investors for mutual benefits and shared prosperity.
The Hwange Thermal Power Station was built in 1973 and commenced operations in 1983. Between 1983 and 1986, four units were commissioned with a total capacity of 480MW.
In 1987, Unit 5 and 6 with 220MW each were added to the plant. This took the total to 920MW. The addition of Unit 7 and 8 with 300MW each took the total power capacity to 1520MW.